'Fingerboarding' fans proliferate as hobby sweeps N.J.

Jerry McCrea/The Star-LedgerBennet Schwartz, 9, of Towaco, practices his technique Sunday before competing during the Tech Deck World Championship NYC Qualifier fingerboard competitions, held at Garden Sk8, in Montville.

MONTVILLE — It’s all about the trick. How difficult it is to perform, how the skateboard lands and how the skate park is used. Respect is earned by showing off the newest permutation of ollies, kickflips and nosegrinds.

But this board is only 3 inches long and 1 inch wide. Just enough to fit the index and middle finger.

"Every movement is exactly the same except that it is scaled down," said 15-year old Conrad Muscarella of Hasbrouck Heights. "Instead of kicking your leg out, you kick your finger out."

This is fingerboarding — not quite a sport, but much more than a hobby.

Once a fad that might have earned practitioners a spot alone at the lunch table, fingerboarding is growing into big business.

A get-together in Massachusetts, which began with a handful of friends 10 years ago, now draws hundreds from across the country.

Several of the participants at Sunday’s regional qualifier for the first-ever U.S. Fingerboarding Championship, held at Garden Sk8 in Pine Brook, were sponsored by companies that manufacture the boards or the parks. Some of these kids have started their own businesses selling equipment. Others rake in revenues through online advertisements on their YouTube channel.

"There is a fantastic subculture," Muscarella said. "It’s about understanding that you can do more than meets the eye with these things. (People) don’t understand there is more to it than just flipping it around."

Tempted to roll your eyes or snicker?

The winner of the championship, which will take place Sept. 3 in Long Beach, N.Y., receives $5,000. No joke.

Fingerboarding has a culture all its own — complete with a secret handshake. The mini-boards have been around for more than 40 years, but the advent of the internet, which allows people with a shared passion to find one another, and the coming of YouTube, which enables fingerboarders to share their skill and post tutorials, has helped grow fingerboarding’s prominence.

The more impressive the trick, the more admirers you earn. And prestige is the currency in which fingerboarders trade.

Taylor Rosenbauer, who grew up in Morristown and now attends Providence College in Rhode Island, is one of the community’s most celebrated members, and Sunday’s winner.

The 19-year-old is minoring in film, learning a skill that benefits his prowess on YouTube.

Because fingerboarding isn’t really about competitions — those are just an excuse to get together. The real hook is the videos. The cinematography, choreography and, of course, the tricks.

Rosenbauer has more than 13,000 subscribers to his channel, YouTube.com/spazpants, his videos have been viewed nearly 3 million times, he appeared in Atmosphere’s music video for their song "You" and is sponsored by Blackriver-Ramps, a German company.

"I never thought it would get as big as it has," he said. "People started following me on YouTube and that’s when I realized there was a community I could be a part of."

On Sunday, Rosenbauer and Tim Hurley, another 19-year-old celebrity, were sought out for autographs by younger fingerboarders.

"It’s something I never understand," said Hurley, who lives in upstate New York and attends Pratt Institute. "But it makes me feel so good."

The cheap plastic fingerboards cost only a few dollars, but the top of the line can sell for as much as $180.

That buys you a sleek, easy to handle wooden board with double-bearing wheels and a neoprene grip.

"It can be expensive," said Conrad who created his own company, Radramps, which sells ramps for around $30, "but I get more enjoyment out of this than I do a video game."

This all might sound a bit odd, and some parents who attended Sunday’s event admitted they didn’t understand their kids’ hobby.

But consider this: On Sunday, two dozen boys, mostly teenagers, played together in the sun for four hours and no one took out a cell phone. No one texted. No one tweeted. They concentrated.

"It’s harmless," said Warren Hurley, Tim’s dad. "You don’t have to be a certain age to play with a toy."